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Eagles Shut Out Notre Dame to Win Sixth Straight Holy War

Boston College played its most complete game of the season as they beat the Fightin’ Irish 17-0 to retain the Frank Leahy Memorial Bowl and the Ireland Trophy.  BC won with a combination of a ball control offense, anchored with a strong running game, a stifling and turnover-causing defense, and a big-play special teams unit.  With neither team moving the ball well on offense, the game was largely a field position battle, though Notre Dame’s five turnovers helped BC (none) win that battle.  Each team committed sloppy and stupid penalties: BC 8-80, ND 5-58.

The Eagles could have put a few more points on the board as two drives sputtered in ND territory, but Steve Aponavicius missed two field goals: one off the left upright, the other wide.  He did, however, open the scoring with a first quarter field goal.  As the offenses continued to trade possessions and try to pin the other deep, BC’s defense stepped up.  The front line provided some push and was able to pressure Jimmy Clausen all day.  Mark Herzlich, in addition to a touchdown saving tackle on a Golden Tate punt return, blocked two passes, and was all over the field.

In the second quarter, Clausen fired downfield in the area of a reciever, but Paul Anderson was able to get in front of it and then get blockers in front of him for a 76-yard touchdown return.  Anderson got a second pick later and Roderick Rollins and Donnie Fletcher each had another.  Two of the Eagle interceptions were in the endzone as ND was able to move the ball only to fail to finish.  Clausen was 26-45 for 224 yards with ND in the air most of the night.

The BC frontline also was a wall to the Irish rushing attack.  In 21 attempts, Notre Dame gained only 67 yards and did not break a single rush for a significant gain, save some Clausen scrambles (6-20 on the ground).  Armando Allen was six for 24 on the ground as he also hit the wall a few times.  Neither team was any good at keeping drives alive as BC went 3-14 on third down conversions while ND was 4-14, but failed on both fourth down attempts.

BC was out-gained 291-252 in total yards and 224-79 in the passing game.  However, BC’s effective rushing game was controlling the clock and the flow of the game, so that limited the passing game.  They compiled 173 yards on the ground at 4.6 yards per try.  Montel Harris had a phenomenal game, rushing for 119 yards on 21 carries and Chris Crane did almost as much damage rushing with 42 yards on 11 carries.

BC made some great adjustments during the game as ND started to key on Harris, they would leave running lanes open for Crane, allowing the two to set each other up.  In the passing game, Crane was only 9-22 for 79 yards, but did hit Brandon Robinson for a nine-yard score.  To put that in perspective, Tate (72 receiving yards) and Michael Floyd (69) each had nearly the whole BC passing attack.  Wide Receiver Ifeanyi Momah made his biggest contribution on special teams, blocking an Irish punt in BC’s most well rounded game of the season.

Notre Dame has still not beaten a team with an above .500 record this season.  It was the first shutout in the BC-ND series and the third of the season for the Eagles (Kent State, Rhode Island).

Outlook

My preseason pick was Notre Dame in this game as Charlie Weis’ squad was improving last season and clamped Matt Ryan down last season and nearly stole the victory.  So, despite a couple missed calls, my preseason slate to this point is even with BC’s season to this point at 6-3 en route to a predicted 7-5 season.  I liked Florida State before kickoff and I will stick to it.

FSU seems to have too much speed for BC to contain in this match.  They have answered one of their biggest question marks entering 2008 with quarterback Christian Ponder blossoming into a very good signal caller and Antone Smith making the most of his senior season at running back.

ACC Rewind

• Virginia Tech asserted its Thursday dominance by beating #23 Maryland
• Florida State downed Clemson in first non-Bowden Bowl since 1999
• #19 North Carolina used great defensive effort in win over #22 Georgia Tech
• Wake Forest got TDs instead of FGs in win over Virginia
• N. C. State gets first conference win over still bottom-feeding Duke
• Bowl Eligible (8): Florida State (7-2), North Carolina (7-2), Georgia Tech (7-3), Wake Forest (6-3), Virginia Tech (6-3), Miami (6-3), Maryland (6-3), and Boston College (6-3)
• Virginia (5-5) must win one of final two; Duke (4-5) must win one of three; Clemson (4-5) must win all three remaining (they have two FCS wins and only one counts); N. C. State must win all three
• Wake Forest and Florida State lead the Atlantic at 4-2; Maryland lurks at 3-2.  Remarkably, if BC, at 2-3, wins its final three games, which are against the three divisional opponents in front of them, BC will head to its second consecutive ACC Championship Game.
• Virginia Tech, UNC, and Miami are all 3-2 in the Coastal, while Georgia Tech lies at 4-3 and Virginia is 3-3.  Both divisions are still wide open.

ACC Fast Forward

• Virginia Tech should pass tough test at Miami for Coastal control
• Wake Forest should stay on top in the Atlantic with win over N. C. State
• #19 North Carolina getting better each week should take out #23 Maryland
• Clemson should look like the team they were expected to be at Duke

Projected Top 10

1. Alabama: OT win over #15 LSU clinched SEC West Title, date with #4 Florida in SEC Title Game
2. Texas Tech: third straight win over ranked opponent, but face #6 Oklahoma next
3. Florida: offense still firing on all cylinders; will face #1 Alabama for SEC Title with East wrapped
4. Texas: back in win column with solid victory over Baylor
5. Oklahoma: 21 point first quarter sets up 66-28 win and they did not score in the fourth
6. USC: defense continues to be dominant as they have allowed 13 total points in the last five games
7. Penn State: loss to Iowa solves one BCS problem
8. Boise State: big win over Utah State keeps them in BCS picture
9. Utah: BCS hopes were on life support, but pulled out win over #11 TCU to keep them alive
10. Ohio State: starting to look better as they dominate Northwestern

UMass Update

#13 UMass fell to Maine in Colonial play to fall to 6-4, 3-3 in conference action.  This was a tough one for the men from Amherst as they missed an extra point with three minutes to go that would have tied the game.  This was following a frustrating first half where the Black Bears held them scoreless and a second half comeback that nearly brought them back into the tie. 

Liam Coen was a very pedestrian 15-33 passing, accumulating only 200 yards.  Moreover, he connected on two touchdown passes, but threw four interceptions.  Tony Nelson ran 19 times for 93 yards (he also had a five yard catch) and Chris Zardas was two for nine, including a three yard score.  Jeremy Horne caught nine balls for 141 yards, including the 58 yard final touchdown.  Ian Jorgensen scored the other touchdown on his only catch of the day, a five yarder.  A trip to #7 New Hampshire is up next week for the Minutemen.

Tags: Boston College, UMass

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